How to play Cornhole

What you need

• Two boards. WSOC regulation boards are 47.75 to 48 inches long and 23.75 to 24 inches wide, with a smooth plywood top at least half an inch thick. The front edge stands 2.5 to 4 inches off the ground and the back about 12 inches.
• A hole in each board: 6 inches across, centered 9 inches from the top edge and 12 inches from each side.
• Eight bags, four of each contrasting color. Regulation bags are roughly 6 inches square, about an inch thick, and weigh 15 to 16.5 ounces. All four in a set must match.
• Level ground about 10 to 12 feet wide and 40 to 45 feet long for a full-distance court.
• A tape measure and something to keep score: a phone, chalk or the scoreboard many boards have built in.

Set up the game

1. Place the boards on level ground facing each other. The WSOC distance is 27 feet from front edge to front edge. For youth (10 and under) and seniors (75 and over), WSOC allows 15 or 21 feet. For a casual group, shorten it to whatever keeps bags landing on the board.
2. Mark the pitcher's boxes: a 4-by-3-foot area on each side of each board, running alongside it. Players stay inside their box while they throw.
3. Know the foul line. It is an imaginary line level with the front edge of the board you are throwing from. Don't step on it or over it before you release.
4. Choose singles or doubles. In singles, both players start at the same board, one in each pitcher's box, stay in their own lane all game, and walk to the other end after each inning. In doubles, teammates stand at opposite ends in the same lane, so each inning is thrown by one player from each team.
5. Flip a coin. The winner picks either their lane or who throws first in the opening inning, and the other side takes the remaining choice.

Pitch bags and score an inning

1. Pitch underhand from inside your pitcher's box without crossing or touching the foul line. Players alternate one bag at a time until each has thrown four.
2. Wait until the previous bag has stopped moving (WSOC says for at least two seconds) before throwing the next. In sanctioned play, each bag must be delivered within 20 seconds.
3. A bag through the hole scores three. A bag resting on the board scores one. A bag on the ground, or one that touched the ground and bounced up onto the board, scores zero. A bag knocked into the hole by another bag also counts three.
4. Subtract the lower side's inning total from the higher. Only the side with the greater total adds that difference to its match score.
5. The side scoring in the previous inning throws first in the next; on a tie, the earlier first thrower retains the lead.
6. In singles, both players walk to the other board and throw back. In doubles, the partners waiting at the far board take the next inning.
7. The first side to reach or exceed 21 after a completed inning wins.

A sample inning, bag by bag

Doubles, score 15 to 12. Blue (Kim) scored last inning, so Blue throws first. Red (Omar) throws second from the other box at the same board.

1. Blue bag 1: lands short-center on the board, about a foot below the hole. Blue 1, Red 0.
2. Red bag 1: slides straight up the board and drops in. Red 3, Blue 1.
3. Blue bag 2: Kim aims at her own first bag, hits it and pushes it into the hole. Her thrown bag stays on the board. Blue now has one bag in (3) and one on (1). Blue 4, Red 3.
4. Red bag 2: lands on the board left of the hole. Red 4, Blue 4.
5. Blue bag 3: sails off the back of the board. Still 4–4.
6. Red bag 3: Omar throws a "blocker" that stops in front of the hole. Red 5, Blue 4.
7. Blue bag 4: Kim lofts an airmail shot over the blocker and straight in. Blue 7, Red 5.
8. Red bag 4: hits the ground first and skids onto the board. That bag is dead and scores zero. Final inning: Blue 7, Red 5.

Cancellation: 7 minus 5 = 2. Blue adds 2 and leads 17 to 12. Red adds nothing. Blue scored, so Blue throws first next inning.

Cancellation scoring, with a worked example

Only one side can score per inning. Add up each side's bags (3 in the hole, 1 on the board), subtract the smaller total from the larger, and give the difference to the leader. WSOC's own example: 5 against 2 earns the leader 3.

Inning 3 is a wash. Red scored in inning 2, so Red threw first in inning 3, and because nobody scored in inning 3, Red keeps first pitch in inning 4 too. Put simply: after a wash, the side that threw first last time throws first again. Overshooting 21 is fine. A side on 19 that wins an inning by 4 finishes on 23 and wins.

Beginner strategy that actually helps

• Aim for a repeatable landing spot. Don't try to throw every bag directly through the hole. Landing about a foot short of the hole and sliding is the most forgiving shot, and a bag that stops short still scores one.
• Throw flat. A bag that spins flat like a pancake lands softly and slides predictably. A tumbling bag bounces off. Hold it flat on your palm and release with a slight wrist flick.
• Stay in one spot in the box. Same foot position, same arm swing every time. Most beginner misses come from moving around between throws.
• Use your own bags as ramps. A bag already near the hole can be pushed in by a later legal throw, changing that inning's value. Aim to hit it squarely and slide it in.
• Block when you're ahead. If you have points on the board and your opponent has a clean lane to the hole, a bag parked in front of the hole forces them to throw over it.
• Count the inning before your last bag. Know if you need a 3 to win the inning or just a 1 to cancel. That tells you to play safe or attack.
• Throw toward the score you need near 21. At 19 you need any winning inning. No exact-score rule applies, so attack freely.

Common mistakes and rule disputes

• Adding both sides' raw totals. The official answer: cancel the lower inning score. Never add 4 to one side and 2 to the other.
• Counting a bag that bounced from the ground onto the board. It is dead and scores zero.
• A bag hanging over the hole. It counts one point unless it falls in before scoring. Don't touch it until both sides agree the score.
• A bag hanging off the front edge and touching the ground. WSOC counts a bag only when it comes to rest on top of the board, and its pages do not address this case directly. The common convention is to score a bag that also touches the ground as zero; agree on it before you start.
• Stepping over the foul line. That bag is a foul. If it knocked other bags around, WSOC has an "impacting bag" procedure: play out the inning, then the fouling side removes its highest-value bag before scoring.
• Overhand throws. Not allowed; every pitch is underhand.
• Forgotten bag. If players clear the board and then realize a bag was never thrown, the inning stands as scored and the missed bag is forfeited.
• Who throws first after a tie inning? The side that threw first in the tied inning.
• Touching the board mid-inning. Adjusting or touching the board during an inning is not allowed. Straighten it between innings.

Popular variants and house rules

These are not WSOC rules. Agree on them before you start.

• House rule: exactly 21 ("bust"). Go over 21 and you drop back to a set score, often 15 or 11. This lengthens games and makes the final innings tactical.
• House rule: skunk. A game ends early if one side leads 11–0, or 21–0, depending on the group.
• House rule: four-bagger bonus. All four of your bags in the hole in one inning wins instantly. Rare enough to be a party moment.
• Variant: no cancellation ("straight scoring"). Both sides keep everything they score. Good for kids, but games get long and the defensive play disappears.
• House rule: shorter court. 15 or 21 feet for kids and new players, which matches the WSOC youth and senior distances.
• WSOC timed games. In sanctioned events, a game clock may apply. If it runs out, the leader wins; a tie plays one more inning, then sudden-death single bags.

Teach it in five minutes: a script for the host

1. "Two sides, four bags each. Stand beside the board, never in front of it, and toss underhand to the far board."
2. "We take turns, one bag each, until all eight are thrown. That's an inning."
3. "In the hole is three. On the board is one. Off the board, or bounced off the grass, is nothing."
4. "Only one side scores per inning. Subtract the smaller total from the bigger one. If I get 5 and you get 3, I score 2."
5. "Whoever scored throws first next time. First to 21 at the end of an inning wins, and going over is fine."
6. "Practice throw: hold the bag flat, swing straight and aim a foot short of the hole."

Age and group-size advice

• Ages 5 to 7: move the boards to 10 or 15 feet and skip cancellation. Celebrate any bag on the board.
• Ages 8 to 12: 15 or 21 feet with normal scoring. Regulation bags weigh about a pound, which most kids this age handle well.
• Teens and adults: 27 feet for the real thing.
• 2 players: singles; you walk between boards each inning.
• 4 players: doubles, the classic backyard format, with no walking.
• Big parties: run "winners stay on" doubles, or a quick bracket with games to 11.
• Accessibility: throwing from a chair inside the pitcher's box works well. Shorten the distance as needed.

Cornhole questions people ask

Check yourself

Sources and edition notes

World Series of Cornhole singles and doubles match rules for ordinary four-bag innings. Team tournament formats and local backyard distances can differ. Equipment sizes, distances, pitcher's box, foul and overtime details come from the WSOC pages below.

Sources and stated format checked October 2026. This records a document check, not a claim of hands-on testing.

• World Series of Cornhole: official game and scoring rules
• World Series of Cornhole: official singles rules
• World Series of Cornhole: official doubles rules

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